County assessor indicted

A grand jury has indicted Maricopa County Assessor Kevin Ross, accusing him of using confidential taxpayer information for financial gain and then trying to cover it up.

Ross, a Gilbert Republican first elected in 1996, denied the charges in an e-mailed statement sent Friday. He said the information referred to in the indictment is only names and addresses already public record and easily accessible to anyone online.

"My credibility and my integrity have been challenged. I have nothing to hide," Ross said. "If anyone thinks I’m not going to stand up and fight these charges with everything I have for as long as it takes, then they don’t know me at all."

The county assessor determines property value for tax purposes.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democrat, brought the indictment Thursday.

Ross is charged with two counts of conflict of interest of a public officer and obstructing a criminal investigation, offenses that carry penalty ranges of probation to two years in prison and probation to 2 1/2 years in prison, respectively.

The indictment alleges that Ross gave Gary Graham of Colonial Mortgage Co., a digital spreadsheet with the names and addresses of 15,000 taxpayers whose property tax rates have been frozen under Proposition 104, a voter-approved measure Ross pushed for in 2000.

The county assessor’s office compiled the information from taxpayers who applied for the benefit under the promise it would remain confidential, the indictment states.

Eligibility requires a person to be at least 65 years old, have lived in his or her primary residence for at least two years and have an income of less than $26,500 for a single owner or $33,000 for two or more owners.

The indictment alleges that Ross gave Graham the spreadsheet with the understanding that Graham would mail reverse mortgage solicitations to the listed taxpayers and Ross would get a commission for every reverse mortgage Graham got.

Reverse mortgages are gaining in popularity as a means for retirees to sustain fixed incomes.

They allow homeowners older than 62 to borrow money against their homes without having to make monthly payments. Payment on the loan is due when the homeowner dies or when the house is vacated or sold.

The indictment alleges that Ross got wind of an investigation of him and told Graham on May 13 that "someone was trying to cause political problems" for him with the Proposition 104 list, "and that it would probably be best if that list did not exist."

"Defendant Kevin M. Ross also asked Gary Graham to act stupid if anyone asked him about the list, and to forget that he and Defendant Kevin M. Ross ever had a conversation," the indictment states.

Goddard’s press aide, Andrea Esquer, said the attorney general would not comment and she refused to answer any questions, so it was not immediately known how much money Ross allegedly received.

Graham was unavailable for comment.

"I can say without equivocation that I have never done anything I’m ashamed of during my eight years as Maricopa County Assessor," Ross said. "I have never financially benefited by even one penny by anything I have done in this office."

Ross founded a Tempebased mortgage company in 1990 that specialized in commercial and residential accounts, according to his official biography. He is seeking his third term as assessor this year.

His only announced Republican opponent is property appraiser Keith Russell from Mesa.

"Whenever you’re running, you hear rumors probably about your opponent," Russell said. "But I hadn’t heard anything about an indictment."

Russell said he’s challenging Ross because the county assessor should have more knowledge and education about determining property values.

Whether Ross can be suspended or forced to resign from office before he goes to trial is still unknown, but history shows he can probably remain.

Former Gov. Fife Symington remained in office until he was convicted in 1997 of defrauding lenders on real estate projects.

President Bill Clinton pardoned Symington in January 2001.